Austin Ekeler had just 36 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards with no touchdowns in the Chargers’ Week 1 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Austin Ekeler : Chargers | Stats | Fantasy | Contract
Ekeler (born May 17, 1995) is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL).
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | May 17, 1995 Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Eaton (Eaton, Colorado) |
| College: | Western Colorado (2013–2016) |
| Undrafted: | 2017 |
He played college football at Western Colorado and signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Ekeler attended and played college football at Western Colorado from 2013–2016.
As a freshman, Ekeler started nine games. He led the team with 1,049 rushing yards to go along with seven rushing touchdowns.
As a sophomore, he had 14 rushing touchdowns and set school records with 1,676 rushing yards, 2,093 total all-purpose yards, and 190.3 all-purpose yards per game.
As a junior, he had 19 rushing touchdowns and led Division II in all-purpose yards per game with 203.9 and scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game and as a senior, he had 1,495 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
Austin Ekeler Chargers
Thursday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers was supposed to come with plenty of offensive fireworks and fantasy points.
Someone must have forgotten to tell the star players.
The five offensive touchdowns in Kansas City’s 27-24 victory came from Zander Horvath, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer, Justin Watson and Jerick McKinnon, which is not what fantasy players relying on Austin Ekeler wanted to hear.
The Chargers star running back ended up with 14 carries for 39 yards and just 2.8 yards per attempt.
He added nine catches for 55 yards at least, but the lack of a rushing attack combined with Sony Michel receiving a handoff at the Kansas City 1-yard line instead of him was reason for concern.
Ekeler had just 36 rushing yards and 36 receiving yards with no touchdowns in the Chargers’ Week 1 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, so there is something of a troubling pattern emerging in the early portion of the season for those fantasy players relying on the No. 1 back.
Fortunately, there is a track record to fall back on after he scored 20 touchdowns a season ago, but the dominant fantasy playmaker from 2021 has yet to make an appearance in 2022.
Austin Ekeler Stats
Ekeler signed a three-year, $1.66 million contract that includes a $5,000 signing bonus with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.
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On March 16, 2020, Ekeler signed a four-year $24.5 million contract extension with the Chargers.
In Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ekeler rushed 16 times for 93 yards and caught 4 passes for 55 yards during the 23–20 overtime loss.
In Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, Ekeler recorded 143 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown during the 21–16 loss.
Ekeler tallied 206 attempts for 911 yards during the 2021 season. In addition to scoring 12 rushing touchdowns, Ekeler also caught 8 touchdowns.
With 20 total touchdowns, Ekeler joined Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson as the only two players in Chargers franchise history to score that many touchdowns in a single season.
Ekeler, along with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, led the NFL in touchdowns.
Fantasy
Austin Ekeler’s message to fantasy managers who are freaking out following his week 1 performance.
Ekeler tallied four of his nine receptions on the team’s final drive in what ended up being a toothless attempt at a double-digit comeback.
Much like the Week 1 win over the Raiders, the Chargers once again opted to diversify the backfield carries with Joshua Kelley and Sony Michel each seeing four attempts apiece.
While the backfield workload has been predictably split, Ekeler has seen a dramatic reduction in red-zone opportunities after scoring 20 touchdowns in 2021.
It’s also worth monitoring the status of the Chargers’ offensive line as both right tackle Trey Pipkins (ankle) and All-Pro center Corey Linsley (knee) were forced out of Thursday’s game due to their respective injuries.
The team, who also saw star quarterback Justin Herbert labor through the later stages of the fourth quarter with an apparent rib injury, will relish in the extra days off before taking on the Jaguars on Sept. 25.
“I think it’s just been eye-opening to myself,” Ekeler said.
Contract
Austin Ekeler signed a 4 year, $24,500,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including a $6,000,000 signing bonus, $15,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $6,125,000.
| Contract: | 4 yr(s) / $24,500,000 |
| Signing Bonus | $6,000,000 |
| Average Salary | $6,125,000 |
| Total Guarantees | $15,000,000 |
| Guaranteed at Signing | $13,750,000 |
| Free Agent: | 2024 / UFA |
In 2022, Ekeler will earn a base salary of $5,500,000, while carrying a cap hit of $7,000,000 and a dead cap value of $4,250,000.
This means that Ekeler can become a free agent after the 2023 season.
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